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Bob Bashara requests use of laptop for document review as March 3 trial approaches

Bob Bashara

Bob Bashara and his attorney Mark Procida appear before Judge Vonda Evans for a pretrial conference at Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in Detroit, Mich., Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, as his attorneys prepare to defend him on charges he hired a hit man to kill his wife, Jane. Bashara is serving a minimum six-year sentence after pleading guilty to hiring a furniture store owner to kill Joseph Gentz, a developmentally disabled man who worked for Bashara as a handyman. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, David Coates)

DETROIT, MI - Grosse Pointe Park's Bob Bashara, accused of the Jan. 24, 2012 murder of his wife, 56-year-old Jane Bashara, has requested use of a laptop computer to review court documents in the case against him.

He appeared in court for a pretrial conference Tuesday and will return Jan. 31 for a motion hearing on multiple issues, said a representative for Judge Vonda Evans.

The trial is scheuduled to begin March 3.

According to the Department of Corrections website, Bashara is being housed at the Oaks Correctional Facility in Manistee. He'll celebrate his 56th birthday behind bars Thursday.

Bashara is serving a sentence of up to 20 years for soliciting the murder Joseph Gentz, Bashara's former handyman and admitted accomplice in the strangulation of Jane Bashara, a marketing executive and Bay City native. Detroit police discovered Jane Bashara's body inside her SUV parked in an alley on Jan. 25, 2012.

Gentz is serving a minimum of 17 years for his role in the killing and claims that Bob Bashara pulled a gun on him, threatening to kill Gentz if he didn't kill Jane Bashara.

Gentz said the fatal attack took place in the garage of the Bashara's upscale Grosse Pointe Park home.

Nearly 20 witnesses over the period of a week testified in September on behalf of prosecutors during the preliminary examination in the trial against Bob Bashara.

Testimony indicated Bashara had a kinky, porn-addled and philandering lifestyle that he kept separate from his wife and two children.

It is through a website catering to BDSM, which stands for bondage and discipline, sadism and masochism, Bashara met his mistress — whom he referred to as his "slave" — Rachel Gillett, in 2009. She called him "Master Bob."

One of their first meetings took place in what Bashara referred to as "the dungeon," a converted space beneath a property he owned used for role play.

As their relationship evolved, Bashara spoke of adding another woman to the mix and purchasing a house for the three of them to live in.

Gillett said there were plans to close on a house Jan. 27, 2012, two days after Jane Bashara was discovered dead.